College Has a Place in Willoughby’s Future

Among the hundreds of high school football players who will sign letters of intent across the nation today, the most unlikely college-bound senior could be Wilburn Willoughby of Los Angeles Marshall.

As a special-education student who has a learning disability, Willoughby made a disturbing admission last year on his Individualized Education Program. He indicated his goal was to finish football season, then “drop out of school.”

“Now I’m going to college,” he said. “That’s crazy.”

His story of overcoming obstacles on and off the field is why coaches coach and teachers teach. The adults got through to him before it was too late.

As a football player, Willoughby is a dominant 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive lineman.

He had 12 sacks, recovered 14 fumbles and forced 16 fumbles last season. He returned an interception for a touchdown. He returned a fumble for a touchdown. He might be the most talented Marshall football player in more than 30 years.

But Willoughby has been scrambling to make up for academic deficiencies from his freshman and sophomore years. Other troubles off the field included getting into fights and disrespecting adults.

The good news is the transformation he has made appears real.

“I’m not that person anymore,” he said. “That was two years ago. I’ve had to change or I’d wind up dead somewhere.”

His coach, Andy Moran, said football was the motivation for Willoughby’s turnaround.

“The fact this kid is going to graduate is phenomenal,” he said. “He was such a wreck. He was a social misfit. He didn’t realize that if he wanted to play football, he had to do certain things.”

His coaches used football to convince Willoughby to stay in school. His defensive line coach, Steve Ruedaflores, kept challenging him to get better. And his algebra teacher, Charlie Mack, refused to let him give up on school.

Despite a fourth-grade reading level, Willoughby started making progress in his studies and most important, took his studies seriously.

“Man, I’ve been telling the JV guys I wish I could go back in their shoes,” he said. “What I know now, I’d be in the Pac-10 somewhere.”

San Jose State started expressing interest in recruiting Willoughby. The school has a program for students with learning disabilities, called the Academic Support Program for Increased Retention for Education.

Willoughby went on an official recruiting visit last weekend. He got to visit Coach Dick Tomey’s house and ate so much he probably gained five pounds.

“It was the best barbecue you could ever have,” he said of one lunch.

He still needs to take a Spanish class. And he’ll be a Proposition 48 student in the fall, meaning he doesn’t meet NCAA academic requirements and will have to sit out his freshman year. But he’ll get that year back by the time he’s a senior if he’s making progress toward a degree.

He plans to sign with San Jose State today.

“I’m going to be the happiest man,” he said. “It will mean so much. I’m determined to go to college and study business.”

He lives in an apartment with his mother, Darlene, in Silver Lake. She likes the new Wilburn.

“We couldn’t communicate without screaming and hollering at each other,” she said. “He was rebelling because me and his dad separated. He changed. He wants to make something out of his life.”

Willoughby became a team captain. Suddenly, younger players were asking him for advice.

“I never thought I’d be a captain,” he said. “It’s crazy how I have all the JV players looking up to me and talking to me. I have to be a real good example. This is the way I want to stay and be the rest of my life.”

As a football player, Willoughby is good enough to play at the next level. But it will be his efforts in the classroom that determine if he gets the chance to keep playing.

Give him credit for figuring out a path to succeed.

“Violence doesn’t get you anywhere,” he said. “Intelligence and being smart will get you far in life.”

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.